Manchester’s Mad Fer Doll World

A DIY fashion collective that’s part runway, part rave, part murder mystery—and definitely not London.

They’re screaming, dying, and throwing up on the runway. Two models—Maddy and Charlie—are violently convulsing, thrashing to warped techno. Around them, a crowd of club kids belts out unhinged Addison Rae-“Von Dutch” screeches. Then, the models hurl themselves off the stage, nearly flattening i-D photographer Dorian Day. 

It’s just another night in Doll World, a scrappy, DIY fashion-performance collective from Manchester. Founded by the eccentric duo Maddy and Charlie, the group is hellbent on bringing queer fashion-tainment to the North. Tonight’s event, their third so far, is an immersive murder mystery–meets–rave–meets–runway, loosely inspired by 1920s glamour—but with more RAWR than roar. After following them on Instagram for months, I finally decided to see it all for myself.


Writing: KYLE MACNEILL